The Walkers: The real Salt Path | Tortoise Investigates

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Raynor Winn’s memoir The Salt Path was a bestseller and literary phenomenon with millions of people captivated by this true story of financial ruin, terminal illness, and healing through nature. Raynor Winn has since published two more books and The Salt Path has been adapted for the big screen, starring Jason Isaacs and Gillian Anderson.

At its heart it is a simple tale, of a couple embarking on a 630 mile trek in the face of stark adversity. When faced with nothing, they chose to walk.

But when reporter Chloe Hadjimatheou received a tip-off that the memoir may not be the "unflinchingly honest" account it claimed to be, suddenly things began to unravel. And the questions, about what is and isn't true, began mounting.

How far can you bend the truth before it begins to break?

Episode 1 will be available to listen on Tuesday 13th January.

Subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to binge listen to all 7 episodes on Tuesday 13th January.

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Reporter - Chloe Hadjimatheou

Producer - Matt Russell

Music supervision and sound design - Karla Patella

Sound design - Rowan Bishop

Podcast artwork - Lola Williams 

Executive producer - Jasper Corbett

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• No. of episodes: 111
• Latest episode: 2026-01-13
• Society & Culture News Documentary News Commentary

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